The last Jaguar E-Type came out of the production line in 1975 and despite being considered the "prettiest car ever made", the company never had plans to continue production since then. Classic car lovers and Jaguar fans will be delighted to know that the iconic E-Type is making some sort of a comeback. Jaguar is restoring the E-Type and dubbing it 'Reborn'.
The company is planning on getting its hands on ten Series 1 Jaguar E-Types and restoring them to their old glory. Jaguar, which claims to still have the original drawings and the Jaguar Heritage Trust's build records of the car, will put the ten old sports cars, made between 1961 and 1968, through the company's Classic division where they will undergo a series of processes to bring it back to pristine conditions.
The Jaguar E-Type was introduced back in 1961 and instantly became a hit among car lovers. Only 72,233 of the iconic car were made before Jaguar stopped production in 1975. As mentioned, the classic car is considered the most beautiful car ever made. The everlasting appeal of the Jaguar E-Type is attributed to Malcolm Sayer with some help from Sir Williams Lyons.
The Jaguar E-Type was not just an eye candy. It came with a 3.8-liter XK engine which was impressive at the time. The company boasted that the E-Type could go as fast as 150mph, also an impressive feat back in the day, though owners never got to replicate the speed on the road. The E-Type underwent a number of revisions mainly to its internals as time went by. Jaguar's Reborn program will focus on the original specifications of the car.
Jaguar is already done with the first car to pass through the company's Reborn program as the expert restoration team brought back a 1965 Series 1 Fixed Coupe back to life. The 4.2-liter car, which hailed from California, was retired back in 1983 after garnering 78,000 in mileage. It will make its public debut at the Techno-Classica event which, as CNET noted, will be held in Essen, Germany this month.
According to Fox News, Jaguar is not the only car manufacturer that is jumping on the retro bandwagon. Land Rover, Jaguar's sister company, brought back 25 original Land Rovers in 2016 and is set to restore 10 first-generation range Rovers this year.
Jaguar is not only bent on reliving its glorious past via the E-Type Reborn, it is also looking to the future to remain relevant. The car manufacturer has partnered with Shell to introduce the world's very first in-car payment system in which drivers can pay for fuel without leaving their vehicles or even paying in cash.
